Warm Breath
by KuroTails
Summary: A dragon that has slumbered in Arrendelle has reawakened. A young woman goes to slay it, but is it her true enemy? AU.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** This story was inspired by some of Yamino's drawings.

Here: art/Elsa-s-Tea-Trick-430836695

And here: art/Dragon-Elsa-431219711

The "Little Wing" part was because of Mass Effect, my current obsession.

**Warning:** If you don't like femslash, why did you click on this? Also, updates will be sporadic at best since I'm a very slow writer.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of Frozen. I wish I could have a piece of Elsa's ass, though. Damn.

* * *

A red-headed woman sat next to the fireplace while her spouse lay passed out on the couch. She smiled at the scene but looked up when she heard her child practically stomping and yelling through the room.

"Mommy! Mommy! Tell me a story!" The little girl almost tackled into her. The body on the couch stirred for a moment, seeming to wake up, but stayed happily asleep. The woman motioned at her daughter to lower her voice before asking, "What kind of story?"

The child crawled onto her mother's lap and thought for a moment. "Tell me about the Ice Queen, please," she whispered. The little girl was trying hard to not wake up her other parent.

"Again?" Her daughter nodded; it was her favorite story.

"Alright, then." The woman cleared her voice and began, "A long time ago, a powerful dragon once ruled Arrendelle. Where she came from, no one knew...but she hungered for flesh and gold. The dragon made her home in the mountains and demanded tribute of coins, jewels, and livestock every year if the people wanted to survive. Unlike other dragons that breathed fire, this dragon had a breath of ice. That made her much more cruel for she could freeze the land and watch as the people starved. They called her the Ice Queen for that reason. Many brave knights tried to slay the dragon, but none ever returned. Those that were found had been turned into ice, forever frozen in time. This went on for many years. But one day, the dragon vanished without a trace. Some said she died from a sickness, others said she left for greener lands. Whatever the truth was, the dragon hadn't been seen in over a hundred years. No one attempted to go and search for her lair for it was said to be cursed. Eventually, the Ice Queen faded into myth, remembered only as a story to frighten children."

The young girl sitting on the storyteller's lap started bouncing but managed to keep quiet. "But the dragon came back. Right, Mommy?"

The woman nodded and hugged her daughter. "You seem to know this tale better than I do, Kristin. Maybe you should tell it instead."

Kristin shook her head. "You tell it betterer than me. And I like your voice, Mommy."

The woman smiled. "Thank you, my Little Wing." She shifted into a more comfortable position. "The Ice Queen did indeed come back. She had slumbered in her mountain for a long time until her lair was stumbled upon by two foolish adventurers..."


	2. Rude Awakening

**A/N:** This is a fast update for me. But I recently got Lightning Returns, so I'll be distracted for a while.

Also, I saw a Tumblr post that Hans was a mirror or something, but I'll always think of him as a manipulative asshole.

**Warning:** Cliche uses of dragon and gold.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Except this pretty cool shirt.

* * *

"Hey, Hans! You sure this is a good idea?"

Hans looked back at his companion, a look of contempt on his face. "Of course! Think of the riches we'll find, my friend. Then, I'll have my own kingdom," he muttered the last sentence. Being the youngest of thirteen sons left him no chance to inherit his father's throne. That didn't mean he couldn't create his own, though.

"But the lair of the Ice Queen is just a myth! A fairytale to scare kids," huffed the other man.

"All myths have a grain of truth, Olaf. How do you think they got started in the first place?"

The short man stopped for a second to think about it and agreed with Hans. However, Olaf still had some reservations. "It's illegal to be up here. All travel to this mountain has been banned since before we were born. It's punishable by death!" Olaf said nervously. He rather liked his head attached to his body.

Hans merely scoffed. "Who's going to find out? Nobody knows we're here." The young prince had no official business in Arrendelle, so he had snuck into the kingdom with his servant. Olaf believed Hans to be his friend, but he was just using the fool. His family thought he was traveling the world to find fame and fortune. Hans was certainly going to find some kind of fortune very soon. "You're lucky I brought you along. I could've left you behind and taken all the riches for myself." Hans was planning to keep all of the loot for himself, anyway.

"You're right, Hans. I'm sorry for doubting you at all. Thanks for letting me tag along." Olaf grinned widely at his friend.

"Just remember I'm the one with the brains." The prince stopped for a moment to ruffle Olaf's short, black hair.

"No problem!" Olaf took this short break to rest his feet. "How much longer til we get there?"

"Not much farther, I'm sure." It was starting to get colder the closer they got to the top. Hans shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around his body. "Let's hurry up."

The pair trekked on in silence, saving their breaths for hiking. It was a few hours later when they finally got somewhere close to the top. Olaf leaned against a cliff wall, panting like a dog. "I was not made to climb mountains."

Hans ignored him and started to look around the area. He growled in frustration after a few minutes.

"Whatcha searching for?" Olaf had been observing the prince.

"The entrance to the lair. It's supposed to be around here."

"Is that it?" The short man pointed to stairs that led to a huge ice palace.

Hans gasped, "It is real..." He was about to sprint up the stairs but stopped himself. _Why would a dragon live in a palace?_ When he processed that question, he laughed to himself. Dragons didn't exist, except in stories. The castle had probably been made by a real queen who terrorized people. Hans made Olaf go up the stairs first just in case, anyway.

"Do you think the Ice Queen is still around here?" Olaf asked in fear.

"Of course not. Dragons aren't real, and the queen who made this place is dead." Hans couldn't shake off his feeling of dread, though.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Olaf tugged on an icy handle, attempting to pull open the door. It cracked loudly before swinging open. Hans held his breath but, when nothing happened, ventured forth. Inside was a large atrium with doors leading to various rooms while stairs led to the upper floors.

Hans finally noticed that the whole castle was made of ice. He had thought the outer parts of the palace had frozen over after many years, making it look like it was all ice, but he was wrong. He took a shuddering breath; the air was oppressing, like it was weighing down on him.

"Alright, we should split up to look for that treasure. If you find it, shout. I'll do the same." When Olaf nodded his head, they separated. Hans went up the stairs while Olaf scoured the ground floor.

All of the entrance ways were huge, much larger than was necessary. _"They're big enough for a dragon to fit through,"_ the prince thought. He quickly cast that thought aside. _"Dragons do not exist. Dragons do _not_ exist."_ He kept repeating that phrase over and over again in his head.

The first room Hans entered turned out to be a library. Of course, all of the books had frozen to the shelves, making it impossible to take one. The discovery of the library cemented the idea in Hans' mind that it had belonged to a real, _human_, queen. Dragons were beasts, and beasts couldn't read. But, then again, dragons weren't real.

Hans kept searching through all the vast rooms, getting more and more frustrated with each empty one. The castle had all the essentials plus more, but it was all useless to him. After a few more minutes of searching, he heard Olaf call out for him. The prince ran down the steps to where his servant was.

The room Olaf was in was the largest yet. In it was what Hans was looking for: gold. And there were piles of it. Hans laughed aloud and grabbed a handful, letting the coins slide off and clink against each other.

"We did it, Olaf!" He slapped his friend on the back. The short man beamed.

"Yeah! We're gonna be kings!" Hans twitched when he heard 'we' and was about to speak when he was interrupted by a hissing sound.

"W-what was that?" Hans' voice trembled a little. His question was answered when something under the gold started to move. Slowly, a large, scaly body emerged from the piles, stretching its limbs. It was a dragon, and the two men knew it. The dragon blinked a few times before looking down at the tiny humans. It let out a deafening roar that could be heard for miles.

The pair ran, but Hans tripped Olaf, making him sprawl out on the ground. The prince dashed towards the exit without a look back. He ran and ran, forcing his legs to move faster. Hans tripped a few times but didn't stop running until he got to the bottom of the mountain. He was a sweating mess of dirt and blood, but he was already formulating a plan. For it to work, he would need help from the rulers of Arrendelle.


	3. Quest for Retribution

**A/N:** Hooray for writers that take forever to update! *sobs in a corner* Why must Mass Effect 3 and Lightning Returns be so much fun? Anyway, I will try and attempt to update once a week from now on. Notice the word "try". No promises.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. I don't even have my own laptop.

* * *

The king of Arrendelle was holding court this day, and this was the first time he made his daughter actively participate. She would eventually take over, but he still had much to teach her about running a kingdom. It would've been much easier to do so if the queen had still been alive, but she had died during childbirth. The king had mourned her death, but he overcame it by doting on his daughter. He had taught Anna everything that a prince should learn and a princess should learn. She could match any prince in a fight and any princess in wit.

However, Princess Anna had a look of extreme boredom on her face. She had attempted to avoid the throne room for as long as possible, but, now that she was eighteen, she had to sit still and listen to the droning of voices. Anna would have much rather practiced with her bow or sword than sit around listening to problems; she preferred actions over words. Her father allowed her to practice her skills as long as she fulfilled all of her responsibilities. But, even with an adventurous spirit, she was quite a romantic, and she hoped that a dashing prince would sweep her off her feet one day.

Her daydreams were interrupted when a man staggered into the room. The king ordered a guard to help him stay standing and to bring him closer. The stranger gratefully leaned on the guard. "Thank you for this hospitality, Your Majesty." The man bowed as low as he could.

"It is no problem. Where do you hail from, and how did you come to be injured?"

"I'm Prince Hans from the Southern Isles, and I was here to visit your beautiful kingdom with my friend and an escort of guards. We," here he choked back a sob, "we were attacked by a dragon." Anna had perked up when the man said he was a prince, but now her full attention was on him when he said "dragon". People murmured excitedly to each other at this revelation.

"A dragon, you say?" the king asked with a frown. Hans nodded.

"That would explain the loud noise we heard hours ago," a noble said. They had heard the dragon's roar, but they had thought it was only thunder.

"The dragon roared most horribly before it swooped down to attack. Olaf, my friend, knocked me down to protect me from its gaping jaws." Hans shed a tear.

"How could this be?" the king muttered.

"The dragon must be slain!" Anna finally said. Hans looked surprised that the princess said this but agreed with her.

The king nodded solemnly. "This matter must be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. I will take a contingent of guards tomorrow morning and slay this foul beast."

"I'll go with you, Father," Anna volunteered.

"No. You will stay here and protect Arrendelle." The king's eyes softened. "This is a role I can only entrust to you."

Anna sighed but bowed her head. "Yes, Father."

"I would help you, Your Majesty, but I am not fit for battle," Hans said. He looked frustrated. However, this was merely a ruse; whatever the outcome of the battle, Hans would come out the victor.

"It is fine. Stay as long as you need to recuperate. I will take care of this." The king stood up and dismissed the court. A few men came up to volunteer for the quest, and the king thanked them for their courage.

"Anna, why don't you show Prince Hans to the guest room," the king offered to her daughter when he saw her sulky expression. The princess nodded and motioned for Hans to follow her.

The pair walked in silence for a few moments, Anna wishing that she could go with her father and Hans thinking of something to say.

"So," Hans began, "You're the Princess Anna, right? I've heard of your unique...talents." A princess that could fight was a novelty.

"Do those talents bother you?" Anna inquired.

"Not at all. I honestly think they're quite attractive," Hans said with a charming smile. Anna felt a little flutter in her heart.

"Are you flirting with me?"

"I don't know. Is it working?"

Anna giggled. "It'd work better if you cleaned up a bit." Hans was still a mess from his run-in with the dragon, but that didn't take away from his charm.

"Ah, yes," he said sheepishly. "I had almost forgotten about that because of your beauty."

Anna blushed and stuttered, "W-well, here's where you'll be staying. If you need anything, just ask a servant. Alright, bye!" She high-tailed it out of there, her face burning.

Hans watched her leave and chuckled. "Step two: complete."

* * *

Cold. Everything was cold. Olaf didn't like it, even though the cold didn't bother him. He opened his eyes and sat up, looking around. Near him sat a beautiful woman on a throne made of ice.

"You've awakened. I wondered if you had survived the process. It seems you have," the woman said, smiling.

"Process? What process? I don't remember..." Olaf looked quizzically at her.

The woman frowned for a moment but her smile quickly returned. "You don't remember anything?"

"All I know is that my name is Olaf. And I like warm hugs!" he said happily.

"I suppose that is for the best. My name is Elsa, by the way."

"Elsa," Olaf tested her name. "It suits you! So, you created me, Elsa?"

"In a way, yes." She stood up and motioned for Olaf to follow her. The snowman waddled on short legs after her. The two went out to the balcony, the wind whipping and howling around the mountain.

"What do you mean?"

Elsa contemplated on whether or not she should tell him the truth. "You were hurt," she started. "But I fixed you." There. The truth, but not.

"I guess that explains why I can't remember anything. Oh, well. At least I have you, Elsa!" The snowman grinned wide.

Elsa smiled back. "And I'm glad you're with me. If you need anything, just ask. Explore as much as you like." Olaf jumped at the chance and dashed off back inside the castle, leaving Elsa behind.

_"How hurt you were when that serpent left you behind. Humans are monsters,"_ Elsa thought. She turned to look down the mountain. _"They will soon know the wrath of the Ice Queen once again."_


	4. Of Monsters and Men

**A/N:** I attempted to get this chapter out this week, and I did it! *dances* Now to see how long I'll be able to keep this up. Also, I feel like certain parts of this are rushed, so I apologize if they are.

**Disclaimer:** I have Frozen on dvd. Does that count?

* * *

Anna was there to see her father off early the next morning. The king had donned his armor, and he looked every inch the brave ruler he was. Anna had also worn her armor, hoping that her father would bring her along at the last moment. The king noticed and walked over to her.

"Hoping for a fight, Little Wing?" The father-daughter relationship they had was strong, and they often spoke informally to each other.

"You know me too well, Dad." Anna gave a forlorn smile.

"And you know me, so you can guess what my answer is. I also told you yesterday."

Anna sighed, "I just want to help you."

The king put a hand on her shoulder. "Help me by taking care of Arrendelle. If this all goes wrong, you're the only one that can rule."

"Don't say that." She hugged him. "You'll kill that dragon and everything will be back to normal."

"As you say, my Little Wing." The two smiled at each other. "I must be off now." The king kissed Anna on the forehead before mounting his horse. "Take care. Let's move out, men!" he shouted the last sentence to those gathered.

"Take care," Anna whispered as she watched the group ride away toward the mountain. She didn't know how long she stood there, but she didn't move until a snowflake floated down in front of her. Anna caught it in her palm and watched it melt away. She looked towards the sky and saw the grey clouds. _"When did they get there? It's too early for snow,"_ she thought. It had been clear what seemed only like a few minutes ago. The princess decided to spar with her long time friend to clear her head. She probably just imagined the snowflake in her worry.

Anna had first met Kristoff when she was seven. He had been a stableboy then, learning the ropes, and Sven had been a cute little reindeer. It had been the first year that Anna was learning how to fight with a sword. She had learned the bow a year earlier. The princess had felt eyes watching her when she was practicing moves, and she turned to see that it was Kristoff. She had thought for a moment, and then boldly asked him if he wanted to spar. He had been stunned at first, but he readily accepted. Anna easily beat him the first time, but Kristoff learned swiftly. They had been inseparable ever since. There had been a moment when Kristoff had a crush on Anna during their early teenage years, but Anna quickly quashed it. She saw him as a brother, and Kristoff eventually accepted that they weren't meant to be. Since then, their bond couldn't have been stronger even if they were actual siblings.

When Anna found Kristoff in the stables, he was singing to Sven as he was wont to do. The blonde noticed her but didn't stop until he was done with his song.

Anna clapped her hands and teased, "Your voice sounds slightly better than the last time I heard it."

"Aw, be quiet." He threw a carrot at her. Anna merely caught it, took a bite, and tossed it to Sven. The reindeer happily munched away.

"If you want me to be quiet, you're gonna have to make me, O Great Captain of the Guard." The princess threw a sword at him. He caught it before it could hit his face. The swords they used for sparring were dulled down, but they could still leave a nasty bruise.

"You want to get your ass handed to you again?" Kristoff said while standing up.

Anna scoffed, "You wish. I did beat you several times."

"Yes, but I also beat you quite a few times." The two walked out to the sparring arena. Sven followed after them.

"Less talking, more fighting." Anna suddenly lunged at Kristoff, but he was prepared. He jumped out of Anna's reach.

"Well, that wasn't very fair, now was it?" he said with a grin.

"All's fair in love and war," the princess quoted while parrying a slash.

"Too bad this isn't a fight for either of them." Kristoff still playfully flirted with Anna, but he didn't actually mean any of it.

"Oh, be quiet." They then put all of their focus in the fight, dodging and weaving attacks. As they continued to spar, it started to snow harder and harder. Finally, they stopped when the wind started to pick up rapidly. Princess and Captain both ran for shelter in the stables, leaving their swords behind in the growing pile of snow. Sven shook himself when he got inside, sending snow flying everywhere.

"Where the hell did that storm come from? It's only the start of autumn," Kristoff said in confusion.

The princess was agitated, though. "That's not important right now. My father is out there!" Anna began pacing back and forth. Sven let out a concerned noise.

"Sven's right, Anna. Worrying won't help this situation. We have to wait this storm out before we can do anything."

Anna growled, "You should've gone with him. I should've gone with him!" Kristoff backed away slightly from the princess; she was terrifying when enraged.

"Calm down. Neither of us could've stopped this storm from happening. Besides, we both know why the king wanted you to stay here."

Anna pointed an angry finger at him. "That may be true, but that doesn't explain why you're not with him right now!"

The captain flinched but said quietly, "It wasn't my decision. Your father wanted me here to help you in anyway possible."

At that, Anna's anger dissapated and she slumped against a wall. "I just can't bear to lose him."

He stepped close and hugged her. "I know. He's like a father to me, too." The king had always been kind to him; he was like that to all his subjects. But when Kristoff became Anna's closest friend, the king had started to treat him like a son. It was thanks to him that Kristoff was able to move up from being a lowly stableboy to the Captain of the guard. "Besides, I doubt anything could take down your old man," Kristoff joked, trying to ease the tension.

It worked as Anna gave a half-smile. "You're right about that. Remember that time..." The two waited out the storm by telling various stories and jokes, oblivious to what was truly happening on the mountain.

* * *

Elsa knew they were coming and what their intentions were the moment they stepped foot on her mountain. She stood up from her throne where she had been watching Olaf play with his new friends. Elsa had made a giant snow creature named Marshmallow and a little snowdog named Weasel to keep Olaf company.

The trio stopped and looked up at Elsa when she stood, sensing something was wrong. "What is it, Elsa?" Olaf asked.

"We have some unwanted visitors," she replied softly.

Marshmallow growled his displeasure. "I can get rid of them." Weasel barked, as if in agreement.

Elsa shook her head. "Stay here and enjoy yourselves. I shall take care of them."

Right before she left, Olaf spoke up. "Please don't kill them, Elsa. You're not a monster." His eyes held a pleading look. Elsa was taken aback for a second but nodded. With that, she left them and walked out to the large balcony. She stared at the clear morning sky for a moment, enjoying the calm before the storm. Then she raised her arms and concentrated. Clouds started to gather in the sky, blocking the sun ominously. Snowflakes fell from the clouds slowly, almost lazily, but they soon began to fall harder and faster. Elsa relished the blizzard, gaining strength from the howling wind and snow.

A few moments later, a sound like cracking ice ripped through the air; Elsa was changing. Bat-like wings sprouted from her back, hands became claws, and she transformed into a terrible beauty. With ice blue eyes that seemed to cut through your very soul and white scales that blinded your eyes, she let out a challenging roar. The Ice Queen had returned.


End file.
